Monday, September 8, 2008

The loss of Brady for the year is quite devastating. Seismic. I thought their defense was suspect (aging LBers and thin secondary), so now you have to realistically think the curse of the SB bridesmaid will continue.

The blitzkrieg of the Eagles and the Cowboys was impressive. Considering that Dallas did it on the road vs a credible team means more, but none of us should jump to huge conclusions on one week in the schedule. It certainly means something, but only the next few weeks combined with that will tell us just how significant these teams' chances are. The Eagles play Dallas on the road next Monday night... that should be a good one to watch.

The Bears defense was always good when it was HEALTHY. Guys like Brown and Harris were dominant, so it is only a question of whether they can reestablish that Pro Bowl form assuming they do STAY healthy. Last night we got to see that old Bears defense.

Is there any doubt that the presence of a guy like Brett Favre changes the outlook of a team? There answer is NO, there is NO doubt. So for 3.5 quarters they look fine, are up 20-7 on their way to a win, and then the Prevent Offense and Prevent Defense arrive. The Prevent Offense is the complete opposite of why you have Favre. Everyone can say- 'oh, but it did not matter, they won 20-14,' but that is not how it works. It works with QUALITY WINS by more than 10 points so that you do not have to worry about something stupid happening at the end of the game, like a jump ball being come down with in the end zone by the WRONG player. This time it was a Jet, next time vs a better opponent it will be by the opposing player. WHY mention this on a Giant blog? Because if the Giants hung on to win that game 20-14, I would have been going nuts the same way. There is simply no need to make the game that close... all you need to do is play the game with 5 minutes left the same way you played it for the first 55... but NO, Mangenius does the R-R-R-K routine. Forget that he has an experienced professional at QB. Instead the Dolphins are a play away from winning that game. Disgusting. I do not care if it is with 3 minutes left in the Q3 of a playoff game in SF in Jan 2003, if there is 0:14 left vs Dallas on Monday night in Sep 2003, if there is 9:27 left vs Dallas on Jan 13, 2008, these are the ways you lose games. PLAY 60 minutes. Not 42 minutes, Not 59:46, Not 50:33.

3 comments:

Well, I suppose if a near-nonexistent pass rush, soft secondary play, a somnambulant head coach, and a #1 WR unable to hang onto the ball constitutes credible, then so be it.

Despite all the hype, I'm still not sold on the Cowboys' invincibility. If they have an achilles heel, it's Romo's lack of mental toughness. No QB likes to get hit; hit 'em enough times, they get rattled. But Romo becomes positively unglued. Exhibit A: The second half of the playoff game against the Giants last year. Yesterday, we saw more of the same behavior on the rare plays in which Romo was knocked down: the panicked look; the yapping at his linemen.

That's why I think next week's Monday nighter will be very telling. Even as I type these words, I'm betting that Jim Johnson is drawing up multiple new blitz packages for that game. He knows where Dallas' achilles heel lies - and he'll be aiming directly for it. Of course, we still don't know how good the Iggles really are either following their big win over another "credible opponent," the Rams. Although they've been nowhere near as hyped as Dallas, they look like they could be just as deadly. Based on the St Louis game, McNabb appears to be back; their "D" is firing on all cylinders; and DeSean is the real deal. Next week's MNF contest will give us Giant fans a much clearer picture of the level of competition that awaits our team in the East this year.

Well, obvly Cleveland was less than credible this past weekend. They looked like the team the Giants first stringers took to school in preseason. Does that loss yday have to do with Dallas making them look bad? A few weeks will tell us more. My rule is that any road win is a good win, so a 10-6 team with a Pro Bowl QB at home should not be an easy walk. Dallas made it easy.

McNabb was back late last year. Desean Jackson looked vg in preseason and continued that in W1. The Eagles always have good line play, so if they can get help in the WR dept, they are a tough team.

I'll never understand coaches. You need one first down to end the game, and you don't even try to get it. One play ends the game. Instead, they want to leave it up to their D to have to make any number of plays (usually at least 4), to win the damn thing. Stunning.

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